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Air Evac Lifeteam’s Tift County Base is Ready to Serve 12/21/2016

Air Evac Lifeteam is increasing its coverage in Georgia with a new base in Tift County. Officials said the new base, which opened on December 20, will ensure even more residents in the region will have access to lifesaving emergency medical care. The base, temporarily located at the Tift County Fire Department, is the tenth Air Evac Lifeteam base in the state of Georgia.

Air Evac Lifeteam is the nation’s largest independently owned and operated air medical service, and its crews provide on-the-scene medical care, rapid medical transport, and transfers between medical facilities. An Air Evac Lifeteam crew, which includes a registered nurse, paramedic and pilot, is on call at each base 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Seth Myers, president of Air Evac Lifeteam, said he is grateful for the support of Tifton and Tift County officials, first responders and health care officials.

“We are proud to be a part of Tift County, and especially to work with area hospitals and EMS agencies,” Myers said.

Jason Jones, director of Tift County Public Safety, said Tift County has had a long-standing positive relationship with Air Evac Lifeteam.

"The opportunity to establish a base in Tift County will further solidify that relationship,” Jones said. “We look forward the future and to continuing to build on this solid foundation. The Air Evac team has been great to work with. They are a group of dedicated professionals, committed to helping provide our community with the best possible medical care."

Carol Smith, RN, chief nursing officer at Tift Regional Medical Center, said helicopter air ambulances are important, especially for patients with major trauma, and those who require neurosurgery.

"Air Evac supplies air ambulance services to our hospital flying critically ill patients to tertiary facilities that provide services not available in our community,” Smith said. “Having the helicopter located closer to the hospital results in a quicker response time and allows us to save “golden minutes” which are crucial to patient outcomes. This service is an asset to Tifton and the other communities we serve.”

Air Evac Lifeteam currently operates 131 air medical bases in 15 states. For more information, please visit www.lifeteam.net.